Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) Page 29

  "Get out," he ordered roughly.

  When the figure under the bed only whimpered, Corden added:

  "I will not hurt you."

  A slender hand appeared first, then the rest of the frightened girl. The general searched his clouded mind for a name. Helia. He watched her climb out from under the bed, only to scramble as far away from him as possible, backing into a corner.

  The girl looked dreadful. Her blonde hair was messed up, but at least her clothes didn't seem to be torn. Corden thought that fear had done worse damage to her than Worgen. He chose not to explain to her how lucky she was.

  "Helia," he said. "I need you to answer me. Has anyone else been here today?"

  There seemed to be something calming about using her name. The girl's eyes went wide and she shook her head.

  "Not before you," she said quietly. "Are you here to kill him?"

  "Yes."

  The thought of death didn't seem to please her, but there was a ray of hope. Seeing that, Corden pressed on.

  "You're all right now," he said, trying to sound soothing, but the battle trance turned it into a snarl. "This will all be over soon, but you can help. Do you know where he is?"

  Helia stared at him with big, wide eyes. Corden forced himself to wait, reminding himself that not every Terran woman had as much courage as Lana. He watched the frightened girl, seeing the weakness in her. It wasn't even Helia's fault. The man who had kidnapped her was not someone she could stand up to, but breaking her had not been hard to begin with.

  Her trembling hand rose and pointed to the opposite corner. Corden turned to look and noticed a small indentation in the wall, big enough for a little speaker to fit in there. He grinned. Luck seemed to be on his side at last, although the general had never asked for such a fickle ally.

  All the Brion ships had a special link to the general's quarters so the commander could always be informed as quickly as possible. The speaker doubled the comm device that the general already had with him, tuned to the private channel. The one in the quarters required it to be turned on, which was impossible without the genetic sample so no one could tamper with it.

  Had Worgen really been careless enough to leave the device on when he left? Or was it a form of torture, to let Helia hear everything that was happening on the ship? Maybe it was done in preparation of Lana's arrival, to inflict it on both women.

  Corden didn't know and cared even less.

  She heard. She heard all the private messages sent to Worgen.

  The general searched for words that wouldn't scare the already terrified little witness. He didn't need much from her, only what mattered now.

  "Tell me the last place he was called to," he said. "Be sure it's the last one."

  Helia nodded, biting her lip. It was obvious she was trying, combing her memory for the answer.

  "A bay," she finally said. "He was called to a landing bay, I think. Someone was trying to open it up again."

  "Good," Corden said. "Which bay? Try to remember."

  It was infuriating, taking so much time when he needed to rush, but if Helia gave him the right spot, he would finally be able to catch Worgen.

  "Port bay," she said. "I think they said F and then a number. I'm almost certain it was four."

  "I need you to be absolutely sure."

  The girl looked helpless, staring up at him. Then she closed her eyes, trying to focus, as if it helped her remember. Corden wasn't sure, maybe it did help Terrans.

  "I'm sure," Helia said.

  "Stay here," Corden said, turning away from her. "Hide. With the comm link open, I'm sure you'll hear when it's all over. Until then, don't come out of this room."

  That was probably an unnecessary addition. Helia nodded and it was quite clear she wasn't going anywhere. Just in case, the general pulled out his knife, seeing the girl wince, and handed it to her.

  "If anyone should come here, stab them with it," he said.

  Then Corden left the girl and the empty quarters behind, a new goal in sight. He ached to go and look for Lana, but there was only one real threat to her. With Worgen gone, she was saved.

  Corden headed for the bay, intent to finish it once and for all.

  ***

  The going was slower than he would have liked, but it was the first time the Abysmal actually seemed to function like a real warship. With a prideful grin, Corden knew he was the main reason for that. Worgen had been holding back the whole time, trying to protect his precious, valuable originals, but as he kept coming closer, he met with more elite units.

  In fact, he was practically crowded with them. Every corner, every turn brought a new one, neatly organized to cut off his path to the bay Helia had named. Corden hated the delay, but it showed that he was on the right track. If the Abysmal itself was trying to stop him, there had to be a good reason. Finally the warship was showing its true colors, coordinating the warriors to try and halt Corden's pace.

  Here and there, the Torons came to assist him. The vast corridors crisscrossed all over the ship and the frenzied beasts turned up everywhere. Corden was nearly attacked on several occasions before the beasts finally realized it was him.

  "Friend," they said then and returned to their task at hand.

  His spear had never seen so much work in one day. The clones themselves, the men wielding the weapons, were not nearly as good as the arms they carried. Corden parried blades as sharp as his, getting to feel the terrible power of them as well as dealing out the same.

  The general heard the message when the bay was almost in his reach. The Abysmal was panicking now. The ship was indestructible for all intents and purposes, but it wasn't unbreachable. In the last few weeks, it was the first true surprise Corden experienced. Someone had managed to jam one of the warship's landing bay doors, allowing his men from the Claw to try and get on board. Of course, as the intercomm kept reporting, some were cut down by guns, but more reached the Abysmal and had landed safely. The bay Helia had directed him to was the hot spot.

  And Corden was being delayed.

  He roared, pushing on with newly found fervor. The killing had almost become automatic, the spear in his hands slashing throats and bodies and spears. He had lost the count a long while ago. That left his mind free to wonder who had opened the bay doors.

  There was no way Worgen himself ordered it when the bridge sounded so taken aback. Instead they reported the mad general at the front lines, beating back the men who were trying to bring his ship down.

  Corden considered his three warriors. He had ordered them to provide assistance to him on the warship, but if they really managed to do that, he was very impressed.

  The general crossed paths with more Torons. The beasts joined him in breaking through to the landing bay.

  "Friend," they greeted him. "More friends ahead."

  That was interesting, but Corden could no longer stop to think. He only saw obstacles in his way, men who tried to keep him from reaching Worgen in time. No one there could stand against the other general, he was absolutely sure of that. And Lana—where was Lana?

  The thought that she might be anywhere near the carnage was unbearable. Corden hoped she had the good sense to keep away from the thick of fighting. His heart missed a beat when he imagined she might be caught in the middle of it.

  He and the Torons by his side were finally nearing the bay. The noise had been audible for minutes now, roaring and growling and screaming. As Corden broke into the bay, the mess was terrible. Between the fighters, the battle was brutal and merciless. He noticed Torons and his own crew as well as both the clones and the originals. Everyone seemed to be there, gathered in the one place where the combat was thickest.

  He almost roared in disappointed fury when he didn't immediately see Worgen. It should have been a natural place for the mad general, right in the middle of the war he'd brought upon himself. That he had insisted on.

  Men rushed to him. Corden saw Captain Soren as well as Tuven and Arben. All of them broke through the fig
hters' ranks to reach him, breathless and bloody like real Brions.

  "General," Tuven began, but Soren cut him off with a deep frown.

  "You are not one of us," he said, the disgust obvious in his voice.

  "He is with me," Corden said, a hint of warning in his voice. "I'll explain later. Until then, treat these two like allies. There is one more somewhere, but right now, where is Worgen?"

  "I saw him," Soren said at once, a look of pure disbelief on his face. "It really is him. The legend has returned to us."

  "I don't see him now."

  "General," Tuven repeated, louder this time to be heard over the battle taking place all around them. "I was trying to tell you. He has Lana."

  For a moment, Corden felt how the world shook beneath his feet. Then the rage returned, more powerful than ever before.

  "HOW?" he demanded, with such hate in his voice that both warriors backed away.

  "We came here to open the bay," Tuven was saying in a hurry, pushing his broken voice to the limits. "This was Captain Cormac's idea."

  Lana.

  "At first, everything was under control. She lured a Toron pack with us and together we were able to keep the enemies away until your men arrived. But then General Worgen got here."

  There was deep hatred in Tuven's eyes, but the regret was deeper. The dark general's name meant the enemy now in Brionese, the biggest threat.

  "We did everything we could, General, but he was too powerful for us. He killed Ilen and took her. We don't know where they are now."

  Corden did. Again, the words of the mad general came to haunt him, to tear his heart out. His very soul ached when he thought of Lana in the hands of that monster.

  "Move forward," he ordered his warriors roughly. "Push on to the bridge. If I know Worgen, he will want to take the fleet to the underworlds with him. You have to stop the Abysmal. I will deal with Worgen myself."

  Both warriors nodded and Corden saw their determination. That was good. They would need it and a lot more to help the fleet.

  He left the bay behind, hearing the sounds of fighting slowly die behind him. This time Corden knew exactly where he was going, ready to meet his destiny at last.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Lana

  It had all gone so well.

  Lana found herself being furious and satisfied at the same time, with a lining of grief. Her plan had fucking worked, the first honest-to-God victory they had gained over Worgen ever since he started haunting the galaxy.

  The meeting with the Torons had ended happily for all of them. Lana still couldn't believe that she managed to calm down the beasts, but after long tense moments of mutual growling, the Torons had backed away. She had explained to them as well as she could that the warriors with her wanted to help and kill Worgen as much as they did.

  In fact, she thought their need for revenge was much greater, but that was beside the point.

  And then the whole group of them had attacked bay F4 on the port side, taking it by storm. Lana had gotten utterly lost in the middle of it, especially during the first moments when everything was so confusing.

  The Torons charged into the room and her three warriors joined them. The crew was caught off guard by the sudden onslaught and it had actually taken a while for them to notify the bridge. During that time, Lana had managed to open the bay doors.

  From there, the rest had been up to the Claw, but it seemed Corden's men were worthy of him. Five minutes hadn't passed before the first fighters appeared in the bay, but in that time, the defenders were there too. The bay was drowned in a furious struggle.

  Lana had tried to keep a cool head and think sensibly. She established a perimeter of Torons around the door controls to stop the clones from closing the bay up again. And the more fighters arrived from the Claw, the easier it got until Lana was starting to legitimately believe that they could win.

  And then Worgen showed up. The arrival of the dark general had been like a shock wave through everyone present. Even his own men pulled out of his way. Lana noticed with joy that the warriors from the Claw didn't. Her cheer was short-lived, however, when Worgen cut down the men without much effort. It was the first time she properly got to see the difference between a general and mere warriors. But even unit leaders and captains fell before Worgen, who kept coming for her.

  The three warriors pulled their spears to protect her like one. If the dark general recognized any of them as his former warriors, he didn't let it show. In fact, he barely seemed to care about the mayhem around him at all. Worgen's eyes were fixed on her and her alone, sending cold shivers down Lana's spine.

  Ilen was the one who engaged the mad general first. The others were trying to hold back Worgen's bodyguards and keep them from snatching Lana away. She herself had her gun out, shooting at any enemy she could see, but the Brion armor was damn tough. It required a very precise aim to do any damage at all, not to mention taking anyone down.

  To say Ilen engaged his former general was actually an exaggeration. Lana watched with painful regret as the warrior managed to parry only the first blow. It was the only moment Worgen even seemed to notice him or pay attention to his attackers. He adjusted the spear in his hand only slightly and in the next, Ilen was lying dead on the ground with his throat cut.

  As Worgen advanced again, pulling Lana with him, all she could think about was that Worgen had cut the mark Corden had left.

  She fought back, she really did. The general's armor was hot, but despite the pain it didn't stop her from kicking to get away. She knew it was futile, but Lana refused to be simply dragged along without at least attempting to fight back. Worgen's bodyguards closed in around their commander, keeping any potential rescuers away and Lana was abducted, just like that. All her allies were helpless to stop the general who continued ignoring them. Only once he was at the door to the bay, Worgen turned to his guards, ordering them to get back in the fight.

  "Protect the bridge until I return," he said. "Once their general is dead, we will retake the ship."

  No.

  Lana realized she was being used as bait again. It wasn't like Worgen had not cared about the attack on his ship, not at all. He had been so slow to give everyone time to see what he was doing. Every last one of them had seen Lana being kidnapped and that left a thousand mouths and more who could tell Corden where she was.

  The mad general was finally luring Corden in, but that thought had stopped being comforting for Lana. If he was doing that, it meant Worgen thought he would win. And Lana was no longer sure it wasn't mere bravado, after seeing him cut through everyone in his path in the bay.

  The gun had been ripped from her hands as Worgen pulled her along. There wasn't a weapon in sight that she could have used to hurt the general, to slow him down in any way. All she had was the chance to keep struggling to show she wasn't done fighting him. Would never be done fighting him.

  It was all futile in the end. Worgen's grip around her was solid steel, burning like hellfire. And finally Lana recognized the corridor and realized where she was being taken.

  No, her mind protested at once, every last fiber of her resisting the idea. I'm not yours. Not yours.

  ***

  Despite everything that had happened to her and the horrible future awaiting, Lana laughed out loud when she saw the doors to Worgen's quarters. She couldn't stop herself because the mad general had halted in his otherwise purposeful strides, only to look at the damage done to the doors.

  He stopped before them, sliding his fingers over the cuts.

  "He is mad," Worgen said and to Lana's surprise, there was genuine delight. "No, not mad. He has finally welcomed the rage within him. Good, good. Perhaps now he'll see."

  The rage?

  Lana shuddered to think of the implications. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Everyone knew that all Brions had the dark rage burning in them, but they had been fighting it. And Corden most certainly had—he had told her so.

  On the other hand, Lana knew w
hat her being in danger meant to her gerion. Already she had seen glimpses of what Corden was capable of with her life on the line. Could he lose that battle with himself for her?

  Lana was so stunned by that, the smile now dead on her lips, that she let Worgen drag her into the quarters with no resistance. Only once she saw the huge bed did reality crash back down on her.

  With the outer doors broken by Corden, the dark general locked the door of his bedroom. The black doors slid shut before Lana could dash through them and she knew they wouldn't open for anyone but Worgen.

  She was trapped.

  Desperate, Lana looked for another way out. She had been in Worgen's quarters before, but they didn't seem to have any other exit but the door.

  The general watched her, his black eyes observing her hopeless attempts to escape.

  "There is nowhere to go," Worgen said at last and Lana knew it was the truth.

  She turned to look at her enemy in the eyes, but what she saw there was pure madness. Her earlier impression had been right. The more she saw him, the more terrible he got. In their first meeting, his physical appearance had terrified her. In the second, the way he didn't value life. In the third, all of them combined and adding the madness. But now Lana saw that it had all been a facade.

  The true Worgen stood before her and his eyes spoke of the insanity only found in space. There was no understanding, no compassion there.

  The mad general saw only enemies and allies, nothing more. And both were ultimately expendable.

  The veil of sanity around him was starting to shake apart and Lana thought she finally had a glimpse into why his own men hated him so much. The captain wondered at what point had warriors like Tuven understood they were serving a man who no longer lived in the same reality as they did.

  Years? Decades? Had they always known?

  Worgen was shaking, the onyx armor heating up again and for the first time, Lana felt the kind of petrifying fear that rendered her speechless. Lana could handle madmen, but not pure madness.

  The general was removing his gloves, never taking his eyes off her. Lana looked at the door, willing it to open, for Corden to come before it was too late. But Worgen didn't seem to be in any hurry.